


So hold on tight, and hold me close (You're my Hero)

by Dragon_on_the_Moon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5 +1 things, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Gen, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, Keith is overworked, M/M, Nightmares, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Hugging, Platonic Kissing, Protective Allura (Voltron), Protective Coran (Voltron), Protective Hunk (Voltron), Protective Lance (Voltron), Protective Pidge | Katie Holt, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Sick Keith (Voltron), Team as Family, brotherly relationships, no beta we die like men, tags will be updated with each new chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_on_the_Moon/pseuds/Dragon_on_the_Moon
Summary: 5 times Keith was distressed and someone held him, and 1 time it was in victory.
Relationships: Allura & Keith (Voltron), Coran & Keith (Voltron), Hunk/Keith, Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith & Voltron: Legendary Defender Team
Comments: 12
Kudos: 152





	1. Shiro - Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus points to anyone who can tell me where the tittle comes from. 
> 
> Hello friends! I've been on a real Voltron kick during the Pandemic and what's better than Keith whump and platonic snuggles? By the way, if you've never had a friend kiss you on the forehead, you're missing out. I was having a "freak out" (comes from my panic disorder, it's similar to a panic attack) and one of my friends was holding me and the other kissed my on the forehead - it wasn't a magic cure but boy did it help.

Crying woke Lance up. His "big brother instincts" kicked in and he was rolling out of be standing up before he was really awake. 

_We're in_ _space_ , he thought. _Who could be crying_ _?_ The concerned blue paladin opened his door and stepped out into the hall. Shiro was pacing in a slow circle, holding Keith in his arms. The much smaller paladin was clinging tightly to Shiro's upper body, face mushed into the man's chest. Sobbing. 

"Shiro? What's goin' on? Keith okay?" Lance frowned, running a hand through his hair. 

"Nightmare. He's fine, just a little freaked out." The black paladin murmured, voice low and soothing. He rubbed Keith's back and hummed, trying to comfort the crying teen. Keith whimpered, trying to press closer. 

"You need help?" Shiro shook his head. 

"I've got him, go back to sleep." 

"Alright." Lance leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his team-mate's forehead. "Hang in there bud, you're gonna be okay." 

* * *

Shiro sighed, shifting his distraught brother in his arms. He loved Keith with all his heart, and never minded caring for him, but they had been in this hall for almost two hours. It hurt Shiro's heart to listen to the distraught cries. 

"Keith, kiddo, breahte. C'mon, you're okay, breathe for me bud." He patted the smaller male's upped back and swayed. 

"Shiro," Keith whimpered. "Shiro, Shiro, Shiro. Don't leave me." Shiro wrapped his arms tighter around him. 

"I've got you, Keith. I've got you." 


	2. Allura - Overworked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's pushed himself too far and it's past time for him to rest. 
> 
> Set sometime in season 2, after Shiro's disappearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit. Thank you all so so much for all the support I've received on this. Genuinely didn't think that many people would like it. Your comments are all so lovely. 
> 
> I meant to post this chapter on Sunday, but I opened my notebook and realized I hadn't written it and just walked away. And then life happened. But here I am! 
> 
> Hoo I hate this chapter. I don't know what it is, but I just don't like the way it came out. I hope y'all like it a little bit better than I do.

Allura hummed softly to herself as she walked through the castle halls. It was the middle of the night cycle, and the paladins were all in their rooms. Except Keith. 

Ever since Shiro had disappeared, she and Coran had taken to checking on all the paladins before going to sleep themselves. As per usual, Keith wasn't in his room, nor Hunk's - the two often shared. 

The former red paladin had begun to find new hiding places, waiting for her and Coran to give up searching before training all night. But not this night. 

Allura had been noticing the young boy's delayed reaction times and how exhausted he had seemed at meals recently. Tonight she was determined to get him into a bed. 

Absentmindedly she pressed the button to open the door to the training deck. The clang of metal against the training bot brought her out of her thoughts. 

"Keith!" Allura's eyes widened, watching in horror as the bot landed a strong blow on the crown of the Korean boy's head. 

"End training sequence! End training sequence!" The princess ran to Keith's side. 

"'llura? Wha'...?" He slurred, slumping against her chest. 

"When was the last time you slept?" She demands, pulling him into her lap, gently smoothing his hair back. 

"Dunno. Gotta... gotta stay strong for... Shiro... gotta... be... gotta be good for... the team." Allura's heart broke. 

"Oh Keith... You're very good. What you _need_ is sleep." She lifted Keith up easily, standing in one fluid motion, and kissed his temple gently. He hummed sleepily and tucked his face into her neck. 

"Come. You must rest." The sound Keith makes is likely meant to be in protest, but the way he clings to the front of her dress suggest otherwise. He grunts sleepily when she shifts him, and nuzzles into the junction between her neck and collar bone. 

As she carried him off, Allura murmured into Keith's ear. 

"You're more than good enough. You always have been."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up this Sunday, I promise!


	3. Pidge - Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set sometime late in season 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm not late this week. This chapter is super short, in preparation for the next two chapters which handle more serious issues and character relationships that I want to be longer and spend more time on.

A sneeze startled her out of her thoughts. 

"Bless y- Keith?" The Korean boy blinked blearily at her.

"Hey. I came to get you for dinner." He paused, then sneezed again - twice. "Shiro wants us all there tonight." 

Pidge ran a skeptical eye over him. 

"You look like shit." 

"Shut up. C'mon, lets go." He pushed himself away from the wall and swayed. 

"Keith?" The slightly taller boy collapsed back against the wall. 

"I-"

"If you say you're fine, I'm going to beat your ass." He sneezed again. Pidge took the opportunity to test his temperature. 

"You're burning up. You should be in bed!" Keith ducked his head. "Go back to bed, I'll tell Shiro you aren't coming." 

"I don't - I don't think that I can walk." He mumbled. Pidge frowned. 

"Then I'll carry you."

"What?" 

"I'll carry you. If you can't walk, I'll pick your skinny ass up, and carry you to your bed." And with strength that surprised even her, she did just that. 

As she was leaving his room, Keith called our to her. 

"Hey, Pidge? Thanks." She smiled. 

"Anytime. And I'm telling Lance you sneeze like a kitten."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I appreciate all the support this work has been getting and I'll see you all next Sunday!


	4. Battle injury - Lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals week happened and I 100% forgot it was going to so whoops. Here's the chapter that should have been posted 10 days ago...

Of all the things they had been expecting to encounter on the mission, druids were no where on the list. It was only a small fleet, and they expected to wipe them out in less than an hour. About half way through the fight, a druid started firing at them. 

"Keith! On your left!" Lance shouted, hoping that his team mate would be able to turn in time and get out of the way. He wasn't. The blast of magic-quintesance-what-ever hit the red lion full force, knocking her out into space, and sending her towards the planet below. Keith let out an agonized scream before his mic cut out and Lance's heart twisted listening to it. 

"Keith? Keith! Come in!" Shiro shouted into the coms, but it was no use. The red lion was completely dead, and her pilot potentially along with her. Lance swerved around a galra fighter and pushed Blue into a nose dive. 

"I'm going after him." 

"Be careful." Pidge cried, swerving around her own fighter. 

"Bring him home, Lance." Shiro murmured. 

"Lance, _please_ be safe. Take care of him." Hunk breathed. 

"You got it buddy." Lance wondered for a moment if he sound let Hunk dive down for Keith, they were _dating_ after all, but he was already on his way down and it seemed more important to get their teammate back than fuss about who rescued him. 

He let Blue guide him down to where Red had landed, trusting his lion to find her friend - sister? comrade? fellow lion?. As soon as Blue landed Lance rushed out and over to where the red lion lay. He placed his had on her nose and smiled. 

"Hey girl," the lion rumbled back at him. "You got any energy left? Can you let me in to get Keith?" Slowly - painstakingly so - Red opened her mouth and Lance ran up the ramp. Keith was on his side on the floor, bleeding. His eyes were open, a little droopy but open, and his gaze snapped to Lance as soon as he entered. 

"Hey buddy," Lance murmured. "Can you talk to me? Tell me what's going on? What hurts?" Keith whimpered and reached out a shaky hand to the blue paladin. Lance smiled sadly, heart hurting to think the most tactile but also most touch adverse member of the team reaching out for comfort. He grabbed the red paladin's hand in his, and rubbed his knuckles in what the cuban boy hoped was a soothing manner. 

"Head hurts. Shoulder. Think it's ..." He trailed off, whimpering in pain and curling around where their hands were joined. Lance ran his thumb over the back of Keith's hand again, murmuring nonsense words of encouragement. "Think it's dislocated."

"Okay," Lance hummed, trying to use the same soothing, low voice Shiro used when Keith would get freaked out and he needed all of them to be calm. "Do you know where the blood is coming from?" 

"Ankle. 's fract'red. Bone'sa stick'n out." Keith closed his eyes and a single tear ran down his cheek. 

"Okay. Okay. Here's what we're going to do. I'm gonna set your shoulder, 'cuz that can be bad, and then I'm gonna carry you to Blue and she'll take us back to the castle. We'll get you in a pod and then Shiro or Hunk'll come down with one of _their_ lions and get red. 'Kay?" Keith nodded weakly. 

"Alright bud. I'm gonna sit you up now, there we go." He leaned the exhausted red paladin against his chest. "Deep breath, I'm gonna move your shoulder on three. 1.. 2.." Keith let out a hoarse scream as the joint was shoved back into place. He wrenched forward, the flopped back against the broader paladin, panting. Lance pressed a soft kiss onto the korean boy's temple. 

"Good job bud, I'm proud of you. Okay, up we go." Lance stood as fluidly as he could, moving Keith's battered body as gently as he could. The smaller teen whimpered at the movement and pressed his forehead into the junction between Lance's neck and shoulder. 

"It's okay, I've got you. Just rest. I'm gonna carry you to Blue and we'll get you all fixed up." He pressed another kiss to Keith's temple, which seemed to sooth him as he went boneless. "You're safe now." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted a Witcher fic over the weekend if that's a fandom you're interested in! I'm on summer vacation now, and have tons of time for writing. I've sorta fallen out of my voltron kick - as you do - and into a m a j o r witcher kick lately so expect this to be my last voltron fic for a while. Don't worry, I will finish this fic before moving on. Thanks for reading!


	5. Coran - Panic Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's not claustrophobic, he just doesn't like being in small closets. There's a gay joke hidden there somewhere, but he's too busy panicking to figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning!!   
> \- panic attacks  
> \- mentions of claustrophobia   
> \- implied child abuse  
> More detailed warnings (that contain spoilers) are in the end notes.
> 
> I really hate when people only put their trigger warnings in the end notes, especially when they don't specify that there are trigger warnings at the beginning. 
> 
> Hello friends! Whoo boy has it been a while. I've been pretty busy at home because ... (cue drumroll) my family got chicks! We've been trying for two years to get chickens and we finally were able to order on the first of June, and they arrived 23/6. If you don't know, having baby chicks is a tiny bit like having a human baby, except we have four and they fly. It's been amazing, but as I'm the one who's always in my room, I've been the one who takes care of them.

"Number 4! Might I borrow you for a moment, lad?" Keith looked up sharply, startled. He nodded, standing up from the couch and setting his book aside. The Korean boy followed the eccentric Altean through the halls of the castle. 

"What do you need?" 

"I've been doing some cleaning in the engine room - got to keep the castle in tip top shape!- and I just can't reach one of the brushes I need." Keith frowned. 

"If you need to reach something, you should get Shiro or Hunk. I'm not going to be able to reach any shelves higher than what you can." 

"Ah but the brush is on the bottom shelf, hidden in the back of a cupboard. I'm much to big to get down there, but you should be able to." The pair continued in silence, until they reach the closet in question. Keith felt his heart being to speed up. The idea of having to actually go into the closet hadn't really hit him until that moment. He hadn't willingly walked into a closet in almost ten years, but he couldn't just back out of helping. 

"Keith, my boy? Are you alright?" Unable to summon the energy to speak, Keith nodded. Coran opened the door, and together they stepped inside. 

It was even worse inside, and Keith found himself barely able to breathe. It was tiny and dark and suddenly he was eight years old again and crying and hurting and he couldn't breathe and-

"Keith?" Coran gently grabbed his arm and led them out of the closet. "It's alright, my boy, we're out. You just take some slow deep breaths now, and you'll be all fixed up." Keith forced himself to regain control of his breathing, and settle down. He sank to his knees, and Coran followed him to the floor. 

"Sorry." He rasped. Coran shook his head. 

"Don't apologize, it's quite alright lad. Just breathe." Keith leaned back against the wall. "Now lad, why didn't you tell me you were afraid of small spaces? I certainly wouldn't have asked you if I had known." 

"Not the small spaces." He mumbled. "Don't like closets." Coran frowned. "Again, you could have told me lad. You don't need to force yourself into a space where you don't feel safe." 

"Thought I could handle it. Not a big deal." Coran frowned deeper, leaning against the wall beside him and pulling him close. 

"We'll talk about that later, you just rest for now lad. Number 5 and I can finish up later." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings:  
> Keith has a panic attack when he remembers a foster parent locking him in a closet as a child. Coran explains that he's likely claustrophobic.


	6. Hunk- Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Keith make a good team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo this is done! Took me a while. I have a bunch of other ideas for fics that I plan to start work on as soon as I upload this, so stay tuned for that. Also obligatory I‘m writing this on my phone message, I honestly cannot be bothered at current to pull my lap top out.

The sounds of the training bot echoed through the room. Keith‘s bayard made a harsh _clang!_ as it landed against the metal bot.   
  


“Keith!” Hunk called out nervously, watching the bot bring it’s staff down over his boyfriend’s head. They were too close together, Hunk wouldn’t be able to get a clear shot in without risking hitting Keith. The smaller boy looked up just in time to block the blow. He stumbled back from the force of it, giving Hunk the much needed space to take aim and deliver the “killing” blow.   
  


The bot fell to the floor with a satisfying thud.   
  


“Training Level 10 completed.” Keith deactivated his bayard and jogged over to where Hunk stood. He threw his arms around the tall boy’s neck, and Hunk laughed. He put his hands on Keith’s hips and swung the red paladin up in a circle.   
  


“We did it.” Keith said breathlessly into Hunk’s ear when they stopped spinning. “We did it, babe.” Hunk grinned. 

“We sure did.” And he pulled Keith in for a kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! I have all of the chapters for this particular work planned out, but if you have any other prompts you'd like to see, let me know.


End file.
